Raptors Least Efficient Team In League?

My annual review of money and how it has been spent finds a total of approximately $2.03 billion was obligated to the players, which, by my count, amounts to a reduction of $82.3 million in player salaries since last season.

Five Least Efficient Franchises

1. Toronto Raptors, $3.15 million per win. Note that the two least efficient payrolls were the two teams abandoned last summer by Bosh and James. Much like the Cavaliers with James, the Raptors had invested in trying to build a winner around Bosh, only to see the building collapse when its foundation was removed. They don't have a player making $10m, and Andrea Bargnani is worth his $8.5m, but the contributions of Jose Calderon ($9.0m) and Leandro Barbosa ($7.1m) are hard to justify on a losing team.

Five Most Efficient Franchises

1. Chicago Bulls, $910,000 per win. The Bulls are benefiting from a couple of tremendous drafts, as presumptive MVP Derrick Rose (paid $5.5 million this season) and Joakim Noah ($3.1m) are still earning their original contracts. Their payroll won't be quite so attractive in the future -- Noah's salary jumps to $12.0 million next season, and Rose will eventually be a max player -- but the skeleton of an eventual championship team has been assembled. Luol Deng makes an expensive $11.3 million, but he has played in every game and the Bulls could not have finished No. 1 in the East without him. Carlos Boozer is their biggest earner at $14.4 million, while Kurt Thomas ($1.8m), Keith Bogans ($1.6m) and Taj Gibson ($1.1m) provide an excellent return. Each of the Bulls' 11 most expensive players contributed to the team's terrific season.

How is he justifying that Bargnani is worth his money but Calderon and Barbosa aren't? Calderon has better advanced stats than Bargnani, yet makes about the same amount. Or did this guy just look at ppg?

There's a massive flaw with this type of calculation: quite often, teams that are near the bottom of standings will look to make moves mid-season that take on significant salary in the short term, in order to buy themselves salary flexibility in the long-term. In our case, that's Peja. The author never mentions him in the article, but if you subtract Peja's nearly 15 million from our payroll, we drop down to about 2.5 million per. Same story as with Minnesota and Curry (who the author does mention - makes you wonder why he explained it for Curry but didn't for Peja, when Peja actually distorts the numbers more). Point is that from our perspective, efficiency this year was sacrificed for flexibility going forward, a trade-off that every GM would make.

I would say I still support it. I would agree (choke cough hack wheeze) wilth Multipaul that it is a reasonable contract, especially when signed, and especially considering the potential that was there at the time of signing. I would be ok paying him that as a 6th man if we had a true starting 4 & 5, but still pushing for him to get traded.

I would say I still support it. I would agree (choke cough hack wheeze) wilth Multipaul that it is a reasonable contract, especially when signed, and especially considering the potential that was there at the time of signing. I would be ok paying him that as a 6th man if we had a true starting 4 & 5, but still pushing for him to get traded.

Ok, back to the Paul...

Love or hate him, it is a damn good contract in terms of what you are getting for the $$$. THink about some of the other overpaid hacks out there cough cough Baron Davis cough cough Elton Brand